Diagnostic Decoding Surveys

Form A:

Beginning Decoding Survey Advanced Decoding Survey

Complimentary Version

Draft v6 3-25-08

www.ReallyGreatReading.com 1-866-401-7323

RGR offers a workshop on

administering and scoring the

Diagnostic Decoding Surveys.

Please visit our website

(www.ReallyGreatReading.com)

to learn about this workshop and

many others we offer. You can

also see our lessons and

teaching manipulatives that help

students understand phonics and

improve their word attack skills.

REALLY GREAT READING

RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys Complimentary Form A

Table of Contents

When to Administer the Decoding Surveys …………………………………. 2

Criterion-Referenced Benchmarks …………………………………………… 2

Beginning Decoding Survey

Beginning Decoding Survey Summary Directions ………………………..... 3

Beginning Decoding Survey Suggested Script ……………………………… 4

Blank Master Recording Form and Error Grid – Form A …………………… 5

Students Page - Words and Sentences to Read – Form A ……………….. 6

Advanced Decoding Survey

Advanced Decoding Survey Summary Directions ………………………...... 7

Advanced Decoding Survey Suggested Script ……………………………… 8

Blank Master Recording Form and Error Grid – Form A …………………… 9

Students Page - Words to Read – Form A ………………………………...... 10

Additional Information

The Grouping Matrix ……………………………...……………………………. 11

Seven Steps to Implementing Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost ………….. 12

Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost Workshops ……………………………...... 13

Phonics Suite …………………………………………………………………… 14

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© Really great Reading Company, LLC 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit. Draft v5 7-23-07

When to Administer the Decoding Surveys

BEGINNING DECODING SURVEY Grade 1

− Beginning in the middle of the year.

− Administer only the Beginning Decoding Survey. Grades 2 -12

− Anytime during the year.

− Administer both the Beginning and Advanced Decoding Surveys. ADVANCED DECODING SURVEY Grade 2

− Beginning in the middle of the year.

− Administer both the Beginning and Advanced Decoding Surveys.

Grades 3-12

− Anytime during the year.

− Administer both the Beginning and Advanced Decoding Surveys. *Always give the Beginning Decoding Survey before giving the Advanced Decoding Survey.*

Criterion-Referenced Benchmarks

BENCHMARK SCORES

TOTAL WORDS CORRECT ON

BEGINNING AND ADVANCED DECODING SURVEYS

B = Beginning of Year M = Middle of Year E = End of Year * We do not recommend giving this Survey at this time of year.

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© Really Great Reading Company, LLC, 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit. Draft v5 7-23-07

Beginning Decoding Survey

SUMMARY DIRECTIONS

Purpose - To quickly identify a student’s decoding weaknesses in basic phonics and word attack skills.

Age - For students of any age from the middle of first grade on. Always give the Beginning Decoding

Survey before giving the Advanced Decoding Survey, no matter how old the student is.

Reading Skills Assessed � Sight words � Short vowels � Initial & final consonants

� Digraphs � Blends � Words in isolation

� Words in context � Nonsense words

Materials Recording Form and Error Grid - Form A (for Beginning Decoding Survey)

Words and Sentences to Read - Form A (for Beginning Decoding Survey) Pencil or pen

Administration (See suggested script on next page.) Give the Words and Sentences to Read page to the student.

Tell the student: � The assessment is not timed. � Reading the words correctly is more important than reading fast. � It is okay to say “I don’t know” if a word is too hard.

Set #1 - Tell the student to read across the lines from left to right, one set at a time.

Set #2 - Tell the student to read one sentence at a time.

Set #3 - Explain that these are nonsense words.

Recording Student Responses Use the Recording Form and Error Grid to record the student’s responses:

� Place a check mark (�) next to words read correctly. � For errors, write exactly what the student reads next to the word. � If the student gives more than one response, write all incorrect attempts. � If the student self-corrects, write SC – be sure to write what the student reads before self-correcting. � Write NT for “no try” if the student doesn’t try a word or says “I don’t know.” � Mark any appropriate boxes in the Observations section in the upper right hand corner. � Record additional comments and observations in the margins or in the Observations section. � For sentences:

� Place a check mark (�) above all words read correctly. � Record errors, no tries, and self-corrections as described above. � The words in italics are non-decodable sight words.

Scoring with the Error Pattern Grid Fill in the Error Pattern Grid after the student finishes reading the words.

Tally the total number of words read correctly at the bottom of the word list column. � Self-corrections do not count as correct – they are errors.

Analyze student errors � Indicate the part of the word that the student missed by placing an X in the appropriate box or boxes. � Boxes may have more than one X. � One misread word may result in X’s in more than one box. � Mark boxes for all words misread or omitted in the sentences. � Mark errors for any words the student misreads before making a self-correction. � Tally total number of X’s in each column at the bottom of the Error Pattern Grid.

3

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© Really Great Reading Company, LLC, 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit. Draft v5 7-23-07

Beginning Decoding Survey

SUGGESTED SCRIPT

Give the Words and Sentences to Read page to the student.

Set #1 - Real Words

Say: Please read these words. I will not time you. It is more important to read the words correctly than to read them fast. Take your time and do your best to read these real words correctly. You can say “I don’t know” if you don’t know how to read a word. Go across the page from left to right. (Run your finger across the words in the first line.)

I will take notes as you read the words.

If the student reads too quickly for you to keep up as you record errors, say: Wow! You are fast. Please slow down so I can keep up with you.

Set #2 - Sentences

Point to sentence 1.

Say: Please read the first sentence.

Repeat for sentences 2 and 3.

Set #3 - Nonsense Words

Point to the words in Set #3.

Say: These are nonsense words. They are make-believe words and they don’t mean anything. Even though these words don’t make any sense, you can read them because the letters can tell you

the sounds to say. Please read across the page. (Run your finger across the words in the first line.)

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Beginning Decoding Survey Recording Form and Error Grid Form A

Student ________________________________________ Grade ________ Age ________ Date ______________________

Assessor ________________________________________

1 see

2 one

3 play

4 you

5 are Initial Final

6 rag

7 lid

8 dot

9 hum

10 bet

11 rich

12 shop

13 tack

14 quit

15 moth Blends

16 dust

17 step

18 trip

19 pond

20 brag

1. The cat hid in a box.

2. The fresh fish is still on the wet grass.

3. Six flat shells were in my bath.

43 vop

44 yud

45 zin

46 keb

47 shap

48 thid

49 chut

50 weck

© Really Great Reading Company, LLC 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit.

Error Patterns

Observations:

Check the appropriate boxes.

Reads sound by sound, then blends word �

Possible b/d or b/p reversal �

No

Try

Sight

Word

Added or

Omitted

27 - 35

Short

Vowels

Hig

h F

requency

Word

s

Consonants

Quick to guess �

Add Comments

on Back

Slow �

Digraphs:

ch, sh,

ck, th

Or letters

qu

Words Correct: /50 |Column Totals:

Dig

raphs

CV

C

Nonsense Words

Real Words

36 - 42

Sentences (Irregularly spelled sight words are in italics. )

CV

C W

ord

sD

igra

phs

& S

hort

Vow

els

21 - 26

Ble

nds

& S

hort

Vow

els

5

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Beginning Decoding Survey Form A

Set #1

see one play you are

rag lid dot hum bet

rich shop tack quit moth

dust step trip pond brag

Set #2

Set #3

vop yud zin keb

shap thid chut weck

© Really Great Reading Company 2005 Draft v5 7-23-07

For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit.

Words and Sentences to Read

2. The fresh fish is still on the wet grass.

3. Six flat shells were in my bath.

1. The cat hid in a box.

see one play you are

rag lid dot hum bet

rich shop tack quit moth

dust step trip pond brag

vop yud zin keb

shap thid chut weck

6

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© Really Great Reading Company, LLC, 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit. Draft v5 7-23-07

Advanced Decoding Survey

SUMMARY DIRECTIONS Purpose - To quickly identify a student’s decoding weaknesses in advanced phonics and word attack skills. Reminder: Always give the Beginning Decoding Survey before giving the Advanced Decoding Survey.

Age - Starting in the middle of second grade, give the Advanced Decoding Survey (after giving the Beginning Decoding Survey) to all students, no matter their age.

Reading Skills Assessed � Nonsense words � Short vowels � Initial & final consonants

� Digraphs � Blends � Long vowel spelling patterns

� Other vowel spelling patterns � Multi-syllable real words � Multi-syllable nonsense words

Materials Recording Form and Error Grid - Form A (for Advanced Decoding Survey) Words to Read - Form A (for Advanced Decoding Survey) Pencil or pen

Administration (See suggested script on next page.) Give the Words to Read page to the student.

Tell the student: � The words the student will read first are nonsense words. � Real words are at the end of the page. � Reading the words correctly is more important than reading fast. � It is okay to say “I don’t know” if a word is too hard. � Remind the student to read across the lines from left to right, one set at a time

Sets #1 and 2 - Remind the student that these are nonsense words.

Set #3 - Tell the student these nonsense words have more than one syllable.

Set #4 - Real Multi-Syllable Words - Explain that these are real words and they all have more than one syllable.

Recording Student Responses Use the Recording Form and Error Grid to record the student’s responses:

� Place a check mark (�) next to words read correctly. � For errors, write exactly what the student reads next to the word. � If the student gives more than one response, write all incorrect attempts. � If the student self-corrects, write SC – be sure to write what the student reads before self-correcting. � Write NT for “no try” if the student doesn’t try a word or says, “I don’t know.” � Mark any appropriate boxes in the Observations section in the upper right hand corner. � Record additional comments and observations in the Comments section.

Scoring with the Error Pattern Grid Fill in the Error Pattern Grid after the student finishes reading the words.

Tally the total number of words read correctly (include both single and multi-syllable words) at the bottom of the word list column.

� Self corrections do not count as correct – they are errors.

Analyze student errors � Indicate the part of the word that the student missed by placing an X in the appropriate box or boxes. � Boxes may have more than one X. � One misread word may result in X’s in more than one box. � Mark errors for any words the student misreads before making a self correction. � For multi-syllable words – mark X if the student did not try the word or if the student misreads the word. � Tally total number of X’s at the bottom of each column for single syllable words (in the middle of the page). � Tally total number of X’s for all multi-syllable words (nonsense and real) at the bottom of the page.

7

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© Really Great Reading Company, LLC, 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit. Draft v5 7-23-07

Advanced Decoding Survey

SUGGESTED SCRIPT

Give the Words to Read page to the student.

Say: You did so well with these words (the Beginning Decoding Survey) that you get to read some more words. These words may be harder. It is still more important to read the words correctly than to read them fast. You can say “I don’t know” if a word is too hard. I will take notes as you read the words.

Set #1 - Nonsense Words

Say: These are nonsense words. Read across the lines from left to right. (Run your finger across the words in the first line.)

If the student reads too quickly for you to keep up as you record errors, say:

Wow! You are fast. Please slow down so I can keep up with you.

Set #2 - Nonsense Words

Say: These are more nonsense words. Please keep reading.

Set #3 – Multi-Syllable Nonsense Words

Say: These nonsense words have more than one syllable. Please keep reading.

Set #4 - Real Multi-Syllable Words

Say: These are real words. (Point to the real words in at the bottom of the page.) They all have more than one syllable. Please read them.

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Advanced Decoding Skills Survey Recording Form and Error Grid Form A7

Assessor ___________________________

Observations:

Check the appropriate boxes.

Single Syllable Nonsense Words Initial Final

1 fut

2 shab �

3 thox �

4 lutch �

5 phid Blends Slow �

6 gred

7 strup

8 misp

9 weag

10 jaib

11 yume

12 kie

13 moob

14 vawk

15 soid

16 zout

17 foy

18 fird

19 gorf

20 lerm

Multi-Syllable Words

21 kimplut

22 gruckle

23 slafnode

24 dirper

25 panventic

26 wrecker

27 alive

28 forgotten

29 several

30 refreshing

31 fantastic

32 demonstrate

33 lotion

© Really Great Reading Company LLC 2005. For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit.

���� Multi-Syllable Word Error Totals

Reads sound by sound, then

blends word

Oth

er

Vo

wels

Lo

ng

Vo

wels

Total Words Correct: _____/33

Rea

l N

on

sen

se

Error Column Totals:

General Comments:Incorrect or No Try

Quick to guess

Advanced

Vowels

Vo

wel

+r

Sh

ort

Vo

wels

Consonant

Digraphs:

sh, ch, th, ph,

Trigraphs:

dge & tch

Short

Vowels

Possible b/d or b/p reversal

Student ____________________________________________ Grade _______ Age _______ Date ____________________

No TryAdded or

Omitted

Error Patterns

Consonants

9

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Advanced Decoding Survey Form A

Nonsense Words

Set #1

fut shab thox

lutch phid gred

strup misp

Set #2

weag jaib yume

kie moob vawk

soid zout foy

fird gorf lerm

Set #3

kimplut gruckle slafnode

dirper panventic

Set #4

wrecker alive forgotten

several refreshing fantastic

demonstrate lotion

© Really Great Reading Company LLC 2005. Draft v5 7-23-07

For educational use only by non-profit organizations. Not to be distributed or used for profit.

Words to Read

10

Really Great Reading’s Grouping Matrix™ is an easy way to use the results from the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys to group students for instruction.

To request information about how to use the Grouping Matrix™, please email info@rgrco.com.

Description of Grouping Matrix™

The Grouping Matrix™ is a computer program that groups students in grades 2–12 according to the degree of their decoding abilities and weaknesses. Direct on-line data entry and reporting will be available soon. Use of the Grouping Matrix™ is currently free while we are beta-testing it.

The Grouping Matrix™ uses scores from three quick assessments to group students in grades 2–12.

Oral reading fluency (ORF) screening with a grade-level passage for one-minute. (DIBELS has passages and benchmarks for grades 1–6 and AIMSWeb has passages and benchmarks for grades 1–8. We can suggest passages and benchmarks for grades 9–12.)

The RGR Beginning Decoding Survey, which is part of the complimentary package of the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys.

The RGR Advanced Decoding Survey, which is also a part of the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys. (This assessment is not used until the middle of 2nd grade, and is given with the Beginning Decoding Survey.)

Group Descriptions and Instructional RecommendationsThe Grouping Matrix™ places students into one of the 7 groups shown in the table below. The Grouping Matrix™ also provides a maximum recommended group size and instructional recommendations for each group. When applicable, the instructional recommendations include materials that Really Great Reading publishes or plans to publish.

1

2

3

RGR Grouping Matrix Group Description

Max. Group

Size

Instructional Recommendations Grades 2 and 3

Instructional Recommendations Grades 4–12

1 Strong Readers NA No decoding or fluency instruction recommended.

2Slow Reading Rate

(Strong Decoding Skills)NA

Fluency or vocabulary instruction, or a combination recommended. (Type of instruction depends on whether vocabulary is a weakness or not.)

3Mild Decoding Weaknesses

12 PHONICS BOOST 80 one-hour lessons

(publication summer 2008)

PHONICS BLITZ 40 one-hour lessons

4Moderate Decoding

Weaknesses8

5Significant Decoding

Weaknesses6

PHONICS BOOST 80 one-hour lessons

(publication summer 2008)

6Severe Decoding

Weaknesses3 TARGETED READING LESSONS

(publication scheduled for early 2009)

7Recommend Further

TestingNA

Scores are very low. Issues other than decoding may be impeding reading. Recommendation is to give the RGR Pre-Reading Surveys. If they do not

yield enough information, obtain a full diagnostic work-up by trained personnel.

The Grouping Matrix™

Computerized Grouping of Students for Reading Intervention

Seven Steps to Implement Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost in Grades 2–12

For schools interested in implementing Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost lessons, we recommend the following 7 steps. The process outlined below will ensure that students are placed in appropriately sized, homogeneous groups, and that every student receives the most effective instruction.

Screen – Assess all students in grades 2–12 with a grade level, one-minute oral reading fluency (ORF). Calculate the Words Correct per Minute (WCPM) and Accuracy Percentage from the ORF reading. DIBELS and AIMSWeb are examples of appropriate norm-referenced ORF measures. Students who read at the grade level benchmark for WCPM and read with at least 97% accuracy are reading with appropriate rate and accuracy. They do not need further assessment. The following steps are for students who do not meet both the WCPM and Accuracy Percentage benchmarks.

Diagnose – Administer the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys to students who read below the WCPM benchmark or read with less than 97% accuracy on the ORF screening measure. The Surveys take about 7 minutes per student to administer and score. They provide information about each student’s decoding abilities and the severity of any decoding weaknesses. Really Great Reading offers workshops on how to administer the Surveys.

• For students at the beginning of second grade, administer only the Beginning Decoding Survey

• For all other students, administer both the Beginning and Advanced Decoding Surveys.

Group – Enter students’ scores from both the ORF screening measure and the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys into the Grouping Matrix. The Grouping Matrix will group students based on their decoding abilities. It will also provide an instructional recommendation for each student, as shown on the next page.

Assign Teachers, Determine Intervention Groups, and Schedule Instruction – Identify which students (of those identified with weaknesses) will receive intervention instruction and the teachers who will deliver the instruction, and schedule the classes.

Train Teachers – Really Great Reading offers 2, 3, or 4 day Phonics Blitz/Phonics Boost teacher training workshops and a half-day follow-up session. The workshops are described below.

Teach Lessons – Teach the Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost lessons.

Post Test – After the lessons are completed, administer an ORF measure and the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys. The ORF Accuracy Percentage and WCPM scores will determine the effectiveness of lessons by showing the overall improvement in students’ scores while reading. The Surveys post-test scores will show whether each student’s phonics skills show adequate improvement or whether they need to continue phonics instruction. The post-tests will also identify students who may need further diagnosis to determine if they will benefit from instruction in fluency, vocabulary or comprehension after they improve their phonics skills.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

STEP 5

STEP 6

STEP 7

Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost Workshops (The same workshops prepare teachers for Phonics Blitz or Phonics Boost instruction.)

Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost lessons are most successful when the lessons are delivered effectively. Really Great Reading offers the following workshops that provide teachers with the knowledge and practice needed to implement the lessons effectively. When teachers are well trained, the students receive maximum benefit from the lessons.

To request information about Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost workshops, email info@ReallyGreatReading.com.

Screening and Diagnostic Assessment WorkshopOne dayReally Great Reading offers a one-day workshop for staff members who will assess students. The workshop covers administering and scoring the RGR Diagnostic Decoding Surveys. For teachers who have not administered ORF measures, we will include instruction on how to administer and score an oral reading fluency measure. We recommend that all teachers who give Phonics Blitz or Phonics Boost lessons attend this workshop. Even if teachers do not assess students, familiarity with the assessment process helps them understand the rationale for the lessons and their students’ decoding skills needs.

Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost Teacher Training Workshops(The same workshop prepares teachers for Phonics Blitz or Phonics Boost instruction.)

Really Great Reading provides 2, 3, or 4 day teacher training for those who will be giving the Phonics Blitz or Phonics Boost lessons depending on the teachers’ prior experience with phonics instruction.

2 days – For teachers who have extensive knowledge and have recently taught a phonics-based intervention program. The workshop includes:

• Review of specific phonics concepts taught in Lessons 1-20.• Ways to accomplish effective delivery of the lessons.• Practice delivering the lessons.

3 days – For teachers with some knowledge of phonics, but little or no experience teaching phonics to struggling readers. The workshop includes all topics in the 2-day workshop plus:

• Overview of why students struggle reading.• What phonemic awareness is and how to teach it.• Correct phoneme articulation.

4 days – For teachers with no prior experience teaching phonics. The workshop includes all topics in the two-day and three-day workshops plus: (Most teachers of grades 4–12 need the 4-day workshop.)

• What phonics is.• Basic phonics principles and patterns.• Working with struggling readers.• More elaboration on phonemic awareness.

Follow-up WorkshopHalf-dayWe recommend a half-day follow-up workshop about 3 weeks after delivery of lessons has begun. This workshop answers questions teachers have after they begin using the lessons. The half-day workshop also covers the advanced phonics concepts taught in later lessons which are not covered in the initial training.

Phonics Suite

Phonics Blitz and Phonics Boost are part of Phonics Suite, a growing family of lessons that improve students’ accuracy and comprehension. Students are matched to lessons based on the level of their decoding weaknesses, as determined by a diagnostic assessment. All instruction is given in small homogeneous groups at the appropriate pace based on the students’ specific needs.

The Phonics Suite family of lessons available now or in development includes:

Phonics Blitz™

40 lessons for students in grades 4–12 with some solid phonics skills. These students primarily need to understand vowel spellings, learn to read multi-syllable words, and break guessing habits.

• Phonics Blitz lessons can be completed in 10–12 weeks. – The time-frame will need to be adjusted if lessons are shorter than 50 minutes or if class sizes are larger than

recommended.

• Lessons are written to be taught in approximately one-hour sessions.– Ideally schools will schedule 50–60 minute lessons 5 days a week. However, lessons can be a short as 30 minutes

and given as few as three days a week. Any adjustment will result in the lessons taking more than 10–12 weeks to complete.

Phonics Boost™ Available in draft form (only to teachers trained in Phonics Blitz). Scheduled for publication in summer of 2008.

80 lessons for students in grades 2–12 with more significant phonics weaknesses. These students understand some parts of phonics, although they need intensive instruction beginning with short vowels. Compared to Phonics Blitz students, Phonics Boost students need a slower pace and more practice to improve accuracy and fluency.

• Phonics Boost lessons can be completed in 20–22 weeks. – The time-frame will need to be adjusted if lessons are shorter than 50 minutes or if class sizes are larger than

recommended.

• Lessons are written to be taught in approximately one-hour sessions.– Ideally schools will schedule 50–60 minute lessons 5 days a week. However, lessons can be a short as 30 minutes

and given as few as three days a week. Any adjustment will result in the lessons taking more than 20–22 weeks to complete.

Targeted Reading Lessons™ In development. Scheduled for publication in 2009.

Lessons for students who demonstrate a severe deficit in phonics knowledge, many of whom will demonstrate some phonemic awareness weakness. Students in grades 2–12 who read significantly below grade level and perform poorly on the Beginning Decoding Survey need this level of instruction. Students in the 1st grade who have difficulty keeping up with phonics instruction in the general classroom setting will also benefit from these lessons. Students in Targeted Reading Lessons are likely to need intensive instruction over the full school year.